Lifetime, Professional, Emerging and Alumnimay vote for all national executive offices, including president, vice president/broadcast, vice president/print, vice president/digital, secretary, treasurer and parliamentarian. They also may vote for a representative from the region where they live or work. Finally, they may vote on all constitutional amendments.

Academic members may vote for all national executive offices, including president, vice president/broadcast, vice president/print, vice president/digital, secretary, treasurer and parliamentarian. They also may vote for the academic representative on the Board of Directors.

Media-Related Professional members may only vote for the media-related professional representative on the Board of Directors.

Student members may only vote for the student representative on the Board of Directors.

NOTE:Membership renewals must be received by the national office on or before June 1, the advertised pre-registration deadline for the annual convention, to vote in this year's elections. That applies to mail-in voting before the convention, electronic voting before or during the convention and on-site voting at the convention on Aug. 7-9.

March 25, 5 p.m. EST – Any member seeking a position must submit the complete declaration packet to the national office. Click HERE to submit a declaration packet.

March 25-29 – Declaration packets received by Monday, March 25, will be reviewed by the Elections Committee.

April 1 – Certification notices will be sent to ALL applicants via email.

April 5, 9 a.m. EST – ALL certified candidates can begin to campaign. (Note: Before any candidate may campaign for office, he or she must be certified as eligible to seek office by the 2019 NABJ Elections Committee.)

April 5, 9 a.m. EST– Final slate of candidates for the 2019-2021 term will be announced to the membership.

June 1 – Membership renewals must be received by the national office on or before June 1, the advertised pre-registration deadline for the annual convention, to vote in this year's elections.

June 7 - July 17 – Period opens to request a mail-in ballot. Mail-in voting begins.

June 21 – Candidate Spending Disclosure Report Due

July 1 - Aug. 9 - Electronic voting period

July 12 – Candidate Spending Disclosure Report Due

July 17 – Mail-in ballots must be received by the NABJ-contracted election company, to be included in the official tally. Email mail-in ballot request to nabjelections@nabj.org.

Aug. 7 – Candidate Spending Disclosure Report Due

Aug. 9, 5 p.m. EST - Voting polls close

2. TERMS OF OFFICE

Except as provided below in the NABJ Constitution, Section 2(a), terms of office for the board of directors shall be two years. All officers, regional directors and representatives of the organization shall be elected at an annual meeting and may serve in the same office no longer than two consecutive terms. Regional Directors who are currently serving in the capacity may file for these offices in the reconfigured regions as long as they have not served two consecutive terms.

The following special provision shall apply for the election of members to the board of directors for terms of office that will commence at the annual meeting of 2015:

(i) The president, vice president-broadcast, vice president-digital, secretary, student representative, region 1 and 3 regional directors shall be elected to two-year terms that will commence in 2015 and expire in 2017.

(ii) The vice president-print, treasurer, parliamentarian, academic representative, media-related representative, region 2 and 4 directors shall be elected to three-year terms that will commence in 2015 and expire in 2018.

(iii) Thereafter, all members of the board of directors (including officers) shall be elected to two-year terms.

3. CANDIDATES ELIGIBILITY

All candidates must be in good standing with NABJ. Lifetime, Professional and Alumni members can seek the offices of president, vice president/print, vice president/broadcast, vice president/digital, secretary, treasurer, parliamentarian and regional director. Media-Related members can seek the office of media-related representative. Academic members can seek the office of academic representative. College and university student members can seek the office of student representative. Candidates may seek only one office per election. All candidacy eligibilities are subject to review by the NABJ Membership and Elections Committees. All candidates must submit a signed candidate's agreement, biography and employment/university verification to the Elections Committee.

4. DECLARING CANDIDACY

Any member seeking a position on the NABJ Board of Directors, including incumbents, must submit a letter of intent, signed candidate's agreement, biography and employment/university verification (requirements in PDF format), and head shot by Monday, March 25, 2019.

The declaration packet must include the following:

The letter of intent should state the candidate’s name and the position desired;

Before anyone may campaign for office, he or she must be certified as eligible to seek that office by the 2019 NABJ Elections Committee and receive by email a letter, signed by the Committee Chairwoman confirming eligibility. Anyone who engages in campaigning prior to being certified will be in violation of the rules and regulations of the 2019 elections process (and subject to disciplinary action). Campaigning by certified candidates may begin upon certification by the Elections Committee.

Campaigning includes:

Mailings soliciting support

E-mails soliciting support

Phone calls soliciting support

Web and social networking sites promoting prospective candidates and their platforms

Soliciting support at regional conferences or chapter meetings

Declaring candidacy in a public forum, including local chapter events

Campaigning via any official communications tool of NABJ is strictly prohibited. The organization’s official communications tools include, but are not limited to:

NABJ Listserv

NABJ Twitter (@nabj)

NABJ Task Force and Group listservs

NABJ Facebook page

Questions presented to candidates via official communications avenues should be answered privately or through another appropriate forum (campaign website, campaign social media, etc.).

Candidates may not use the NABJ logo on any campaign materials. Candid photographs of a candidate taken at a NABJ event, in which the NABJ logo may appear on banners, signs, etc. may be used, subject to review by the Elections Committee.

Candidates also are prohibited from using the moniker “NABJ” in website names and social media tools without specific reference to the candidate and/or a recognized campaign slogan. For example: #NABJ or #NABJ19 would be ruled as unacceptable. #MFC4ward would be ruled acceptable.

All website names and social media tools are subject to review by the Elections Committee.

6. CAMPAIGN SPENDING LIMITS

Executive Board: $7,000 per candidate

Academic or Media Related Professional Representatives: $7,000 per candidate

Regional Directors: $4,500 per candidate

Student Representative: $2,500 per candidate

7. SPENDING DISCLOSURE REPORTS

Candidates for NABJ office must report all of the money spent on one’s campaign. This form must be used to list campaign-related expenses and donations. In addition to the money actually spent, each candidate also must list realistic estimates for the value of in-kind services and gifts.

You are required to email these reports and financial statements three times in 2019 – June 21, July 12 and Aug. 7.All documents must be postmarked by those dates or be considered late. The only exception will be the last submission, which is due two days before the election and can be delivered in person to NABJ Executive Director Drew Berry by noon at the national convention. All disclosure reports will be collected by the national office and forwarded to the Elections Committee.

The first form should cover any campaign expenditures since certification of your candidacy through June 21. Subsequent forms should cover expenditures since the previous filing. The reports should include a summary of the campaign activities engaged in during the reporting period, an accounting of money raised and acquired during the period and a list of all expenses related to campaign activities.

* Costs related to attending the national convention will not be counted against the spending cap. The cost of attending the regional conference for the region where you live or work will not be counted against you. Expenses for all other regional conferences attended by candidates will count against the spending limit if the candidate engages in any type of campaigning while at a conference. A candidate may only use the regional conference spending exemption for one regional conference in which he or she works or lives.

** Costs of e-mail accounts used for campaigning will not count against the spending cap. Broadcast messages sent via email will not count against the cap. Campaign websites, whether operated by the candidate or his or her supporters, shall count against the cap.

*** Candidates must estimate the cost of in-kind donations and services, which will be counted against the spending limit. For example, if your company prints and mails fliers in support of your campaign, you must report the expenses as if you had paid for it. However, such expenses can be itemized at rates lower than market value, if such company discounts are available to all editorial employees of the corporate entity providing the service or donation.

NOTE:Additional candidates’ forums may be scheduled as opportunities arise.

9. VIOLATIONS

All allegations of campaign violations must be signed and in writing. Anonymous complaints will not be accepted. The Elections Committee will review alleged violations. Confirmed violations will be published in the NABJ Journal and E-News Bulletins; circulated through the NABJ listserv, the NABJ website, membership mailings, Elections Day fliers or posters; and/or any other means to reach the membership. Confirmed violations may also result in deductions to one’s spending limits.

10.ONLINE CAMPAIGNING GUIDELINES

In an effort to keep NABJ's election process fair and impartial, the Elections Committee has developed the following guidelines for online campaigning. This includes candidates' participation in NABJ-affiliated listservs on Yahoo, NABJ-affiliated blogs, participation in NABJ-affiliated accounts on Facebook and Twitter, NABJ-affiliated groups on LinkedIn and all forms of electronic communication.

Candidates are prohibited from initiating or engaging in campaign-related conversation on the listservs, Facebook pages or Twitter accounts affiliated with NABJ.This includes — but is not limited to — endorsements, comments about a candidate or candidates, and referring to a person — directly or indirectly — as a candidate for a particular office. Election-related discussion on NABJ-affiliated listservs, blogs, Facebook pages and via Twitter will be regulated by the assigned moderators, who will be informed of the online campaigning guidelines. Any invitations to candidates to share platforms with members of an NABJ-affiliated listserv, Facebook group or Twitter account, or via an NABJ affiliated blog, shall be extended to all relative candidates to provide fair and equal access.

Candidates may not write posts for any NABJ-affiliated blog that mentions their candidacy for NABJ office, endorse other candidates for office or denounce other candidates for office.

Each member of the Elections Committee shall be assigned no more than two of the largest NABJ-affiliated listservs to monitor on a daily basis. If it applies, committee members also will monitor the Facebook pages, blogs and/or Twitter accounts of the NABJ-affiliated group connected to their assigned listserv(s). If a violation to any of these guidelines happens, the Elections Committee monitor will contact the violator and ask him or her to cease. The monitor (on behalf of the committee)will send an email out to the listserv informing/reminding members of the rules. The monitor (on behalf of the committee)also will record the violation and send a copy of the violation to the Elections Committee.

If an NABJ member who is a candidate for office continues to violate these guidelines after two warnings from an Elections Committee monitor, the member and the candidate will be blocked from the listserv, NABJ Facebook page and/or Twitter account. If a candidate for office continues to violate these guidelines after two warnings from an Elections Committee monitor, the candidate may have his/her/their candidacy revoked.

Members suspecting violations may contact the Elections Committee and respective listserv moderator with details of the suspected violation. The Elections Committee, in conjunction with listserv/blog/Facebook page/Twitter account coordinators involved, will review each suspected violation as it arises. The review will include communication with the accuser and with the suspected violator to determine whether an actual violation has taken place.

Social Media

Candidates are free to create their own campaign-related blogs and/or Instagram/Twitter accounts, created, designed and launched exclusively for the campaign.

Candidates are free to create their own campaign-related Facebook Page — not Facebook Profile— which must be created, designed and launched exclusively for the campaign.

Candidates are free to create their own campaign-related website, which must be created, designed and launched exclusively for the campaign.

All pages, blogs and accounts and websites must be approved by the Elections Committee and will be listed as such on the account/website/blog.

Election committee members assigned to a candidate must be added to candidate’s Page or account as a moderator or collaborator with view only access.

The use of any personalsocial media account to campaign during the 2019 election cycle is strictly prohibited. Additionally, Candidates may not campaign on existing NABJ social media profiles and Pages. Candidates may direct NABJ members to his/her/their campaign Page or account once it is launched and and may list/link their campaign platform on their personal Page, website, blog and/or social media account (under “managed pages”).

All committee moderators are only extensions of the Elections Committee and will have the support and/or advice of the Elections Chair and/or a quorum of committee members before acting in good faith of the organization.